Ducks hope Pac-12 title hopes aren’t soaked

Saturday

Nov 23, 2013 at 12:01 AM

TUCSON, Ariz. — It never rains at Arizona Stadium.

At least that’s what the Duck fans on the trip will be saying as they enjoy some Eugene-like November conditions here today.

The forecast is calling for an 80 percent chance of rain as No. 5 Oregon attempts to keep its Pac-12 title hopes from slipping away against Arizona on the soggy sod at Arizona Stadium (12:30 p.m., ABC).

The Ducks (9-1 overall, 6-1 conference) viewed USC’s victory over Stanford last week, which put them back in control of the North Division, as bittersweet.

Some of the players suggested playing in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2014, would be somewhat anticlimactic with the BCS national championship game to be contested on the same hallowed grounds in Pasadena, Calif., five days later.

Others had a bounce in their step knowing that if Oregon wins today and beats Oregon State in next week’s Civil War, it will host the Pac-12 championship game on Dec. 7 at Autzen Stadium.

“It’s never enough because we didn’t beat Stanford,” freshman linebacker Torrodney Prevot said of the mixed emotions. “Just to see a team that came from nowhere to beat (Stanford) is crazy. But it keeps us on the competitive edge that we know we can do better, and we want more.”

The Wildcats (6-4, 3-4) feature one of the great players in the program’s history in running back Ka’Deem Carey. The junior, who has rushed for 3,707 yards and 41 touchdowns in his career, needs 118 yards to set Arizona’s career rushing record.

The talk in Tucson is that Carey, who is second nationally in rushing yards per game (150.3), will skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft, which would make this his final home game.

“He’s a good player, but we go against a lot of good players every day in practice,” Oregon strong safety Brian Jackson said of Carey, whose streak of 100-yard rushing games is at 13. “I think the training that we do is going to get us ready to play every opponent.”

Arizona quarterback B.J. Denker, one of 18 seniors being honored today, has thrown for 1,888 yards with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has also rushed for another 709 yards and 11 touchdowns in Rich Rodriguez’s spread offense.

Freshman wide receiver Nate Phillips has caught six touchdowns to lead the team. Redshirt freshman Trey Griffey, the son of former Major League Baseball star Ken Griffey Jr., made his first start last week.

The Wildcats are coming off a 24-17 home loss to Washington State. Arizona lost two fumbles and was outscored 14-3 in the second half.

“It’s just another place in our conference that’s a tough place to play,” Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said. “They’ve got a ton of talent, one of the best tailbacks in the country and a quarterback playing with confidence. They’ll be hungry to bounce back after last week, especially with the nature of the game. There were a bunch of unforced errors to that game.”

Marcus Mariota improved to 21-0 as a starter against teams other than Stanford by throwing for 288 yards and three touchdowns during the Ducks’ 44-21 victory over Utah. The redshirt sophomore extended his Pac-12 record of pass attempts without an interception to 343.

Arizona ranks seventh in the Pac-12 in rushing defense, allowing an average of 163.5 yards per game. Oregon, despite some struggles against the physical Stanford and Utah defensive lines, still leads the conference in rushing (285.9 ypg).

“Hats off to Utah, they played well in the first half and they were able to kind of control the line of scrimmage,” Mariota said. “I think the offensive line did a great job of making sure that didn’t happen in the second half. They came out with a vengeance and really pushed the line of scrimmage. That really helped us.”

Oregon’s star quarterback is hopeful that his injured left knee has healed enough to allow offensive coordinator Scott Frost to call some read-option plays if necessary. Mariota said there is a chance he might even get rid of the protective brace.

“Whatever feels best is what I’m going to do,” said Mariota, who threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Ducks to a 49-0 victory over then-No. 22 Arizona last season at Autzen Stadium. “Obviously it’s a little different, it’s a little more restricting (wearing the brace). … I haven’t really been able to push out all the way, and this week I’m going to see if I can.”

In 2009, the Ducks escaped with a 44-41 double-overtime victory at Arizona Stadium during Chip Kelly’s first season. Oregon went on to play in the Rose Bowl, where it lost to Ohio State.

Two years ago, LaMichael James rushed for a school-record 288 yards as Oregon piled up 516 yards of offense in a 56-31 victory at Arizona. The Ducks went on to beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

Now the road to the Rose Bowl goes through Tucson once again. The Wildcats would love to rain on the parade.

“Arizona Stadium, we’ve had some great games the last few times I’ve been down there,” Helfrich said. “The student section is great, very vocal group, creative group and they’ll be fired up for their last game at home. Even more so, we’ve just got to handle our business.”

Follow Ryan on Twitter @rgduckfootball

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